VI

Namjoon pinched the bridge of his nose for what felt like the tenth time in five minutes. The warmth of the apartment, the secondhand embarrassment, the complete loss of control over the situation—it was all too much. Across from him, Y/N sat on the couch, staring silently into her coffee mug like it might offer her a way out of this awkward storm.

The boys were scattered around the living room, exchanging mischievous glances like kids caught in a prank gone too far. Namjoon's mind was racing. Why was he so flustered? Was it because the members were spying on him? Because they thought he had a crush on Y/N? Or maybe it was the idea that Y/N might believe he had a crush on her.

God, no. Anything but that.

"Hyung..." Jeon Jungkook whispered, as if they were in a spy movie. "Does she speak Korean?"

Namjoon turned to him with a deadpan look.

"Seriously, Jungkook?"

"She answered us earlier, didn't she?" Min Yoongi muttered dryly. "Where were you?"

Y/N glanced up with an apologetic smile, one that made Namjoon's stomach tighten slightly.

"Uh... yeah. I do," she said. "Still learning, though."

"She speaks eight languages," Namjoon announced with just the right amount of exasperation. "And her Korean is almost better than mine. So yeah, she understands everything."

A visible shiver ran through the group. Damage control mode initiated.

"Eight?" Jungkook blinked at her. "Wait, are you like... a genius or something?"

Y/N chuckled, clearly uncomfortable with the attention. "Not really. It's pretty common where I'm from, honestly."

Kim Taehyung leaned in, elbows on his knees. "And you're gonna be our English teacher, right?"

She looked at Namjoon, then back at the group.

"Well... that wasn't really the deal. I mean, I'd be happy to help, of course, but I was mostly here to prove myself as an English teacher for Namjoon..." She turned to him again. "Speaking of which, I still need to see your tests. Were you done with them? Can I revise them?"

"Yeah, of course," Namjoon replied, rising from the table. "I'll get them now. We'll, uh... give you a bit of peace while you go over them."

He didn't wait for confirmation before shooting a warning look to his members and gesturing silently: Kitchen. Now.

Once inside, the teasing exploded.

"Kim Nam freaking Joon," Kim Seokjin said, pointing a dramatic finger at him. "You didn't tell us your teacher was that pretty!"

Park Jimin gasped theatrically. "Exactly! Why leave out that spicy little detail, huh?"

Yoongi leaned against the counter with a smirk. "Hope we didn't interrupt something."

Namjoon groaned. "Can you guys stop? I am mortified enough as it is."

"Because it looked like you were about to ask her to marry you," Jungkook said, chewing his lip in amusement.

Namjoon glared. "I'm serious. I want to hire her as my teacher. Why are you all here, anyway?"

"We were worried about you," Yoongi said more seriously. "Your look yesterdayt after the show.. was scary. We thought you were spiraling or something."

Namjoon rubbed his temples. "Guys... just behave, alright?"

Jin raised his eyebrows. "Sure. But you better not fall for her. You know the rules. And the consequences."

Hoseok folded his arms. "Yeah. And before you give her any hope, you'd better talk to Bang PDnim. Honestly, I'm not even sure she's going to be hired to teach any of us."

Namjoon looked at all of them, then sighed.

"Don't worry. I've got it all under control. Including my feelings."

"Right," Yoongi said, unconvinced.

"Guys—" Taehyung straightened abruptly. "She's coming."

Namjoon cringed. Subtlety was clearly not in Taehyung's vocabulary today.

Y/N approached, holding the test papers neatly stacked in her hands.

"I've corrected everything," she said gently. "I could send you a full breakdown with what we could work on together."

"Perfect," Namjoon said, thankful for her calm professionalism. "Can you send it to me by email? I'll speak to my manager and Bang PDnim about the contract."

She smiled—gracious, but tired. "Thanks. I'd appreciate that. Honestly, everything's a little confusing right now, so feel free to include as much detail as possible. The clearer the better."

"Of course. And... sorry about the scene earlier," he said with a sheepish smile.

"No, really. It was lovely to meet all of you." Her eyes scanned the others briefly before returning to him. "I actually have another meeting now, so I should get going."

She waved lightly, then turned toward the door.

Namjoon didn't move. He stood frozen in place, her words still ringing in his ears, her soft voice somehow louder than all the teasing had been.

"You better not fall in love," Jin had said. "You know the rules. And the consequences."

He wasn't in love. That would be ridiculous.

So why did those words bother him so much?

A hand landed on his shoulder.

Yoongi.

Namjoon turned, startled.

"Be careful," Yoongi said, looking past him at the door Y/N had just closed behind her. "Namjoona."

Namjoon swallowed. He remembered too well how shattered Yoongi had been the last time love had entered one of their lives. It wasn't just painful. It had been catastrophic.

"I'm doing this to recruit her," Namjoon said finally. "Bang PDnim wants new models. She's shy, but she's got talent. You should've heard her sing last night. If she becomes a teacher at first, fine. But the end goal is to sign her—model, maybe even singer. That's all. Strictly business."

Yoongi didn't smile. But he did squeeze Namjoon's shoulder briefly.

"You can lie to me. Hell, lie to Bang PDnim if you want. But don't lie to yourself. Keep your heart out of it. Understood?"

He walked away before Namjoon could even nod.

And once again, Namjoon was left standing alone, wondering how something so simple had gotten so complicated... so quickly.